Aston Martin designs on show at the Design Masterclass

How is it possible to visually distinguish a Grand Tourer from a sports car? Or to convey a car's power just from its looks alone? More importantly, what makes an Aston Martin so drop-dead gorgeous?

These are the questions that Marek Reichman, Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of Aston Martin, grapples with on a daily basis.

Thanks to Aston Martin Asia Pacific, however, Mr. Reichman finally gets a break from his sketches and comes to share with us a little about what goes into making and designing each Aston Martin, as well as the fundamental qualities that make them such beautiful things to admire, at the Aston Martin Design Masterclass.

As it turns out, achieving a beautiful form does not take much work. Comparing between the Vantage and the DBS Superleggera, Mr. Reichman pointed out that both cars shared similar proportions: Getting the proportions between the bonnet and the cabin right is what essentially gives their front-engined cars their poise and beauty, as well as that important suggestion of forward motion.

But the cars are starkly different creatures to look at, and therein lies the difficulty in accomplishing a truly successful design: Getting the details on each car right so that the correct intended message and purpose of the car is well conveyed.

The DBS Superleggera, for example, sports an aeroblade, with the car's C-pillar scooping up air and releasing it in a 'wing' at the rear, while the Vantage wears its aerodynamic package proudly on its skin. The former conveying a more subtle but deeper complexity, while the latter is intended to deliver visual clues as to its sporty potential.

Meanwhile, the haunches and shoulder lines of both cars were deliberately massaged to convey different messages. With the DBS Superleggera, big, beefy curves on the bonnet convey a deep, plentiful strength, while with the Vantage, its shoulder lines are this time more subtle, more creased, in order to convey that light and nimble athleticism, like a predator ready to pounce.

Of course, it wasn't all just comparing between the two cars. Mr. Reichman also took the opportunity to share with us the various little things that set Aston Martin apart from other manufacturers, such as the fact that their leather is sourced from a Scottish tannery, from which the longer-haired strains of cow give better protection to their skin and allow Aston Martin to retain the original grain of the leather in their cars, or the fact that each Aston Martin badge is actually a chrome-plated copper piece that then gets its enamel coating oven baked for maximum hardness.

Offering one final parting teaser as to what we can expect from Aston Martin in the coming years, Mr. Reichman tells us that the selected customers that have seen Aston Martin's upcoming SUV, the DBX, have all been in awe of its design. Looks like we have much to look forward to from Aston Martin!